Impeachment Of Andrew Jackson Essay

1152 words - 5 pages

My fellow congressmen, Representative Nicholas and I are here today to speak to you about the possible impeachment of our President, Andrew Jackson. Many of you allege that President Jackson should be impeached for expanding the powers of presidency and for his actions regarding the national bank, spoils system, the forced removal of Native Americans, and the nullification crisis. The truth, however, is that our president has acted only while keeping the interests of this great nation in mind. He has fought for the common man, and though he has made mistakes and crossed certain boundaries, as almost all presidents do, he has only done so while trying to help our country grow and prosper. There is therefore, no reason for his impeachment.
Jackson believed that the National Bank system was corrupt and unjust, so it was justifiable to withdraw federal funds. The National Bank was only useful for the rich, which were a minority in the United States. As a representer of the entire country, he needed to ensure that all systems were in favor of the general people, not just the elite. He “destroyed” the national bank by vetoing the charter that was approved by the senate. When he vetoed the charter, he lost a few of his wealthy voters, but Jackson gained votes from the common people in the election of 1832 (King Andrew and the Bank). Then, Jackson withdrew federal funds and created pet banks. This was an attempt to help the common man become equal individual of the US. Jackson’s efforts failed because these banks raised the demand of paper money, leading to inflation and an unstable economy. Even though this idea resulted in an economic downfall, it was a neither a crime nor treasonous; it was merely a poor decision. Jackson fulfilled his presidential duties and reduced the bank’s power, which proved that he was helping the common man and that his actions were not worthy of impeachment. If he did not remove the National Bank, the division between the rich and the poor would have continued to grow, resulting in an unfavorable situation.
The spoils system was an unwritten policy put in place by Jackson in which he replaced veteran government officials with friends and political supporters. After the Election of 1828, Jackson fired many government officials because he believed they were “corrupted” and took their jobs for granted. He then replaced these fired officials with friends, political advisors, and other Jacksonians. Many Americans believed that this system demonstrated kingly behavior on the part of Jackson, and he was severely criticized by his opponents for this policy. The spoils system, however, was not wrong or impeachment-worthy because Jackson put people on his team who were supportive and trustworthy. In addition, this policy continues today, with all of our recent presidents putting friends and political supporters in government offices so that they can trust and work well with those in their administration. It is...

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